The Forever Crew (Adamson All-Boys Academy, #3)

by C.M. Stunich

“I saw you running—” he starts as I scramble away and find my feet. It’s like, way early in the morning, and Spencer is out here smoking? It doesn’t make sense. Add in the black hoodie, and Church with the knife, and … “What the fuck is that?!” He chokes out, pointing behind me in the direction of the shrine. “I …” There’s not enough time for me to get a single sentence out before two of the killers come crashing through the bushes. Two killers … and Spencer Hargrove in a hoodie, awake at an hour he never is. No. No. This is my forever crew; these are my friends.

“Stay away from me,” I warn, backing up until the edge of my foot touches the water. I want to trust them both, believe them both, but I’m having a really hard time doing that when one was wearing a hoodie and waiting in the woods, and the other is covered in blood and our teacher is nowhere to be seen.

I wonder if he’s wearing any underwear beneath his robe? I facepalm for even thinking that. When I look up, Church is raising a single, skeptical brow at me. “Did you just literally facepalm to your own thoughts?” he asks, and I grimace. I have a bad habit of wearing my heart on my sleeve. He smiles at me before I get a chance to respond and sets his teacup aside,

I kind of like that idea, of being their Chuck. Weird, huh? I mean, they used to crack eggs down my shirt and dump jars of spiders on me, give me swirlies and lock me out of the dining room at Culinary Club. And now, these Student Council Boys feel like they could be my forever crew.

I'm starting to learn that just because people make mistakes, it doesn't make them disposable. Even if the mistakes are big. If there's love there, and you care enough about another person, you work through it and you both become better people. I don't mean keeping toxic or abusive people in your life, but … Micah is human. Whatever he did to Tobias, he's a good person now, and that's what matters. Our past isn't an anchor that keeps us tied to a shipwreck beneath the sea; it's the sail that we can collect wind in so that we can soar.

“What you meant was that in reality, you'd each only ever slept with one girl and not at the same time anyhow. I've pretty much ruined you both, corrupted you and all that. You'll never look at Disneyland the same way again.” “We corrupted you,” they respond together,

No, I'm a secret girl, with my ruthless boys … my forever crew.

“There was a dead kid in those woods. There were people in fox masks. And Eugene Mathers did not hang himself. We all know those are facts. If you don't want to tell me anymore than that, fine, but don't expect me to rearrange my whole life to accommodate your needs.”

With the lockdown in full effect, Nathan breathing down our necks, and my dad treating me like a delinquent, it hasn't been a very exciting five day stretch.

Ranger just stands in the middle of the room, arms crossed, listening to the conversation. Things have been a little weird between us since the double naked baking incident. I've noticed he's been avoiding his frilly aprons a bit, too. Not cool. We need to work out all this tension. And, really, I mean, there's only one way to work it out.

“And let me deal with the girls, okay? They're nowhere near as cute as you, and you know how much I like cute things.” My cheeks flush, but I refuse to give into the compliment.

I never wanted to attend Adamson as a girl. But now that there are other girls preparing to come here? It feels like a challenge. Okay, that’s it. I’m going to do it. I’m going to attend Adamson in a fucking skirt. Wish me luck. I’m gonna need it.

People who hate from a place of ignorance can't be beaten into submission; they need to be educated.”

“Come on, it's not like you guys haven't seen me all dolled up before.” “No, but …” Spencer starts, lifting up a finger and then dropping his hand by his side. His dopey lovestruck grin fades into a smirk. “It's just, our little Chuck-let is all grown-up and tackling Adamson in a skirt. It's a proud, but scary moment for your harem.” “My … what?!” I choke out as Ranger grits his teeth, Church raises a brow, and the twins grin.

Why couldn't he just put his hand on my shoulder, smile softly, and say, 'is there a reason you decided to change the game plan without telling me, honey?' Hah. Like that could ever happen. “This isn't a stunt. This is what you and the school board wanted all along, isn't it? I'm taking control of my own fate at this academy.”

“Is this some sort of rebellion thing?” he asks me, and I realize after a moment that we've switched topics, from murder to boys. Based on my dad's face, I'm guessing they hold about the same weight in his mind. “Pretending to date them all like this.” “Uh, believe it or not, my dating them has nothing to do with you,” I snap, frowning hard. “And don't think I'm just going to walk away and let this whole thing go. You know someone's trying to kill me, and you're not going to do anything about it?”

“Pretty sure my dad just admitted that someone's trying to murder me,” I hedge, and we all go quiet for a moment. It's one thing to suspect something, and it's another to have it confirmed. Fantastic. Senior year, in a skirt, five boyfriends, three murderers on my tail. This should be fun.

“I've always liked cute things,” he says, moving his hands down my sides, his gaze almost too intense to look at. And yet, I can't pull myself away either. “Soft, vulnerable things.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You naked-baked some candy and burned your junk?” I ask, and then I howl with laughter. Ranger sneers at me, wrapping his arms around my body and pulling me on top of him.

“It's so weird that you guys are banging now,” Tobias remarks, looking at the two of us like we're alien creatures with purple tentacles coming out of our crotches. He watches that kind of porn sometimes. Trust me, I know, I've seen it. I played the twin game and stole their key the other day, snuck back into the room to surprise Tobias when Micah was with Church, and caught him masturbating. That was fun.

“Gareth used to sell weed with Eugene and Spencer,” the twins supply, each one pointing across their chest at Spencer. “But he can't count with worth shit, and we're pretty sure he skims cash off the top.”

“Does it strike anyone as odd that Jason Lambert was murdered, and then here Aster Hayes is, campaigning against me?”

“This is Closet and Trunk Antiques,” Church says, not bothering to whisper, but not raising his voice either. “My father bought my mother's engagement ring from here when they were seventeen.” He looks around, using what little light is trickling in from the orange streetlamp outside to see. Subconsciously, I rub at the ring on my finger and Church smiles. “And yes, that one, too.” “You bought a used ring?” Spencer asks, giving Church a look. “You? Of all people? How much was it?” “In some instances—rare instances—tradition is more important than price.”

Now tell me: how do five struggling business owners afford a security team that rivals my parents’?” He turns toward Ranger, and even though I can't see his face, I can hear the coldness in his voice. “They don't. If there’s a cult at Adamson, then it’s run by some of the more powerful families, otherwise my parents would know all about it.”

“These families, they’ve sent their own in to do the deed, and I intend on meeting that challenge.” He moves over to the door, hand resting on the knob, and glances back, just once. “And if my parents taught me anything, it’s to protect the ones you love—no matter what the cost.”

I can’t stop thinking about the way Church’s eyes met mine when he said the word love.

Church sits up, crossing his legs in front of him. My eyes rove a bit past his ankle to the bit of calf muscle showing beneath his pants, making me feel like some sort of Victorian pervert. Dear me, I saw a flash of ankle! How scandalous.

I’d rather go as Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher. Ross gestures up and down, indicating my padded shoulders, long gray wig, and faux beard with a quirked lip. “You had a dramatic coming out of the closet moment to go from boy to girl, and now you’re all dressed up as a man with a big dick?” Ross leans in and squints at the screen, pointing in the general direction of my crotch where, of course, I’ve stuffed the packer penis. We’re close now, me and this floppy silicone dick. “All I can say is—I approve.”

I roll my eyes at the insult and shrug one shoulder, glancing over to find Church sprawled on his bed, dressed as Fred Jones from Scooby-Doo. I won’t lie, he looks pretty damn hot with his hair coifed back like that, wearing blue jeans and a white shirt with an orange ascot tie. The guys have a theme going on here, dressing up like the full cast of mystery solving teens: Ranger is going as Daphne (I cannot wait to see this in person), Spencer as Velma (okay, also really excited to see this transformation), with the twins going as Shaggy and Scooby. I’m the only outlier, as per usual.

“Not a word,” Ranger growls, dressed in heels, pink tights, and an orange wig. His makeup, however, is pretty damn flawless. Lots of sparkle around the lids. Spencer doesn’t look any happier, wearing glasses with no lenses, a short brown wig, and a pleated red miniskirt. Tobias is outfitted with a faux goatee and brown bell bottoms while Micah is swimming in a big, furry Scooby-Doo costume.

“You want to dance?” Micah asks, giving me this lascivious look from under the hood of his costume that makes me grin. “With a furry?” I retort, looking him up and down. “I don’t know, man. You’re pressing your luck.” “How about I promise not to proposition you for sex while I’m wearing this thing, and we’ll settle on some grinding instead?” “Deal.”

The only person Jack cares about is himself, almost the polar opposite of his brother. Spencer was willing to rewrite his whole world view to make sure I fit into it, and Jack wasn’t even willing to rearrange his schedule to meet with Spencer sooner.

“Please. The only magic I bring with me is an innate talent for pissing people off, a habit of blurting inappropriate things, and an obsession with romance. I’ve fallen in love with every boy on the Student Council.”

“Every girl has a ho inside, waiting to liberate her from the puritanical shackles of our modesty-based society that shames women for having natural pleasure and dominion over their own bodies. Enjoy all that dick, and we’ll talk soon!”

“I’m testing out extra nicknames, just so I’ve got fun things to call you from across the room. Babe seemed pretty tame, but knowing how much you love insults like condom face, ass pig, and toilet brush, I figure I’ll get creative next time. I’m playing around with my little slice of hot sauce toast, in homage to your favorite breakfast food.”

“You want to yell hey, hot sauce toast! across a crowded room, then that’s your choice. Just don’t expect me to answer.”

“You know I love you, Chuck.” He shrugs his shoulders again, like it’s no big deal. But it is. It is a big deal. I lean forward, placing one of my hands on his legs, lips parted gently, waiting. “Shit, you can’t look at me like that.” “Say it again,” I tell him, leaning even farther forward, knowing that the top buttons on my shirt are undone, and that I’m sitting in just such a way that there’s maximum cleavage going on.

“I’d rather die for love than live without knowing how bad it hurts,” Spencer says, smiling. “Now say you love me back, and let’s do it before those other assholes show up.” “I love you, Spencer Hargrove,” I say, and I mean it, I do. The thing is, I’m pretty sure I love all five of the boys. Equally. What’s a girl to do?

“We liked pegging you in the face and back with food,” Tobias remarks, parking his elbow on the counter and putting his chin in his hand. “It’s just not the same, with you getting all badass on us and stuff.”

“Son,” Dad begins, and I know then that he’s getting deadly serious. The word son usually only comes out of Headmaster Carson’s mouth when he’s in full disciplinary mode. Church is in trouble. “You put a ring on my daughter’s finger without asking my permission—we are not friends.” “Oh my god, you’re such a boomer!” I choke out, falling back into old patterns. With a deep breath, I settle myself and try to resist the flinty glare my father’s just turned on me. “It’s not 1605 anymore. I’m not your possession, and Church doesn’t have to ask you. The only person he had to ask was me.”

I never expected to like Adamson; I most definitely didn’t expect to like the Student Council. And yet, coming here is the best thing that ever happened to me.

You know what my favorite genre is?” “Am I about to find out?” I look over at him, still breathing hard, still tied up. “Bully romance,” he says with a smile. “I like to see the bad guys get redeemed in the end.” “And who’s the bad guy here?” I ask, cocking a brow as Church sits up and leans over me to grab one of the books, flipping open to a page that’s been marked carefully with a bookmark. “You. You are the bully, Chuck Carson. You knocked my project into the water, and then refused to apologize. When we asked you to help fix your mistake, you acted like we were in the wrong. So, you’re the bully in this scenario, trying to regain my trust because you’re madly in love with me.”

This is never how I saw my life going, but … I like the direction it’s taking. I like being engaged to Church, and baking naked with Ranger, watching gay porn with Spencer (we totally did once), drag racing with Micah, practicing martial arts with Tobias.

They followed us all the way here, all the way to a different country. I mean, I knew they could and would follow me, but this? This is next level.

“Get off of you?” Ranger asks, his voice this cloud of darkness that makes me shiver. “You just attacked our girlfriend, and you want me to get the hell off of you?” “It was a practical joke,” Mark sneers,

Eric is wearing the same injury that I gave the man in the limo. Ranger’s shoulders tighten, and his mouth flattens out. “How are you?” Eric asks, but not like he particularly cares. More like he has no soul. “Just fine, Dad,” Ranger replies, tossing his apron aside and stepping out the door. Let’s just say, I don’t sleep very well those next few nights.

“Hello, Charlotte,” Aster says, beaming brightly as she eyes me and Ranger together. “Church, I hope you know that your girl here’s got a side thing going with this one.” “We’re a polyamorous group, thank you for noticing,” he says, but the words might as well be fuck you and the horse you rode in on. “It’s not like the thing you’ve got going, slinking around and screwing Mark behind Selena’s back.”

“You know, that’s one of the things we liked so much about you, Chuck.” “Cracking eggs down my back?” I ask, thinking of the plastic spider from the cemetery and narrowing my eyes. “No, silly, the fact that you didn’t get us written up for acting like twat-faces.” Micah pops the electric mixer into his bowl as I grin. “Twat-face. That’s a new one, but I like it.”

“I'd almost forgotten that you attended this school.” “That's on you,” I quip back, crossing my arms over my unbound chest, and shrugging. “You're the one that said you didn't want to treat me like a daughter anymore.” “That's not what I said,” he bites out and then sighs, pausing to run his hand over his thinning hair. “You're misinterpreting my words for your own gain, behavior that’s rather childish, especially for a woman who’s engaged and planning to marry.”

“When we get back to Adamson, I’ll naked bake the crap out of some lavender-vanilla cupcakes. I’m also more than happy to bend you over that counter again and fuck the shit out of you.” Ranger taps the screen of my phone with a blue-painted fingernail as Church sips his coffee and the other boys groan. “But only if you open this damn email and put us all out of our misery.”